Mass Effect: Encroachment
by Makori
Summary: What if humanity hadn't discovered the Prothean cache when it did? What if the UNSC had instead, about two hundred years after the war with the Covenant? Join us as the events of Mass Effect happen 600 years after they were supposed to.
1. Prologue Part 1

**Mass Effect: Encroachment**

_Prologue_

**Accessing UNSC Timeline…**

**Please Wait…**

**Access Granted.**

**Welcome, Admiral Hackett.**

**Accessing Years 2553-2783.**

**2553**

Official end of the Human-Covenant War. Reconstruction on Earth and of Earth's defenses begins.

**2669**

Armstrong Lunar Defense Outpost established at Shackleton Crater on July 24th, on the 700th anniversary of the first moon landing. The moon is surrounded by several orbital defense platforms to create a strong point in the now rebuilt Orbital Defense Grid.

**2703**

The newly formed European Space Agency builds a new city on Mars, Lowell City, to try and encourage colonization once more.

**2742**

The UNSC constructs a new defense station near Pluto, calling it Gagarin Station, or Jump Zero, in order to ensure that no further invasions of Earth can occur.

**2748**

A mining accident reveals a hidden cache of technology on Mars, in the Promethei Planum. It's not Forerunner or Covenant technology, but something vastly different, and along the same scale, but more to the point, it is far more adaptable to current levels of technology. Mass Effect fields are discovered and mastered in a very short amount of time, and more efficient faster than light travel created, all thanks to the new technology.

**2749**

Having deciphered the Prothean data cache, the UNSC learns that Charon, Pluto's moon, is actually a piece of Prothean technology, a mass relay encased in ice. Continuous bombardment from the rebuilt UNSC fleet cracks Charon apart, revealing the mass relay, which activates of its own accord once freed. Jon Grissom volunteers to lead a search party through and discovers the Arcturus system thirty-six light years from Earth in the opposite direction that the Old Colonies had been built.

**2751**

Seeing the Arcturus System to be a nexus for several mass relays, the UNSC creates the Arcturus Station, the largest space borne fortress in recorded history, and makes it their new headquarters.

Back on Earth, a shipping accident at the Singapore International Spaceport exposes several countries to dust form element zero.

**2752**

Demeter is slated for the first stage of outer-system recolonization by the UNSC, and several ships arrive to ensure its security.

On Earth, thirty percent of children exposed to element zero suffer from cancerous growths.

**2757**

The First Contact War. Having seen what the mass relays can do, the UNSC sends several scouting parties out with orders to map out any mass relays discovered. Unfortunately, a Turian patrol stumbled across one of them, opening fire to keep the relay from being activated. The scout party's escorts return fire, and both sides take severe casualties, limping back home to lick their wounds. Fortunately, civilian casualties were low. The UNSC, not wanting another possible conflict like with the Covenant War, sends scouts and unmanned probes out to glean as much information as they can. Where they find the sternest resistance, a Battlegroup is dispatched. Most conflicts end in a stalemate. The First contact war rages in space for three months before the Turians find Shanxi and begin to lay siege to it. As Shanxi is a frontier garrison, the resistance is light, and General Williams surrenders after two weeks. The Turians, knowing that such a small colony could not be the homeworld of the large fleet they have seen, begin investigating and interrogating. The 2nd Battlegroup suddenly appears, let by Admiral Kastaine Drescher, and evicts the Turian fleet with a surprise attack. ODSTs are dropped, along with Spartan Group Delta, to scour Shanxi of Turian resistance. As the Turians prepare for full-scale war, the Council intervenes, bringing an end to what might have been a far deadlier conflict.

**2758**

Humans learn potential of biotics. An international effort to track element zero exposures begins. Roughly ten percent of exposed children show some sign of biotic ability.

A grudging and slightly paranoid humanity is exposed to the larger galactic community of Citadel space, and the suggestion of informing the Elites of these other species is passed.

Humans and Turians foster much distrust for years to come.

**2759**

The Elites are contacted, and are put in contact with the Council. Relations with extra-terrestrial species becomes easier for humanity, and they begin to grow more oriented towards future cooperation.

**2761**

With a new, safe and streamlined genetic conditioning process made to create Spartans, the ODST are dissolved, and all former Shock Troopers are absorbed into the Marines. The Army is also disbanded, and all major ground based operations become the responsibility of the United Nations Marine Corp, or UNMC.

**2762**

The Arcturus Station is finally completed.

**2763**

The UNSC starts an experimental branch associated with AI, to attempt to create actual new working minds, as opposed to simple imprints from living people. The research is headed up by Dr. Shu Qian.

The first experimental biotic implant, the 'L1', is used in humans to enhance potential abilities.

**2765**

The Citadel Council finally publicly acknowledges human and Elite influence in the galactic community and grants them embassies on the Citadel. Both races take the offer gladly, and relations between all species drastically improves, with the best relations being between the Elites and humans.

**2766**

A Turian mercenary, Commander Vyrnnus, is hired to oversee training at BAaT.

Several members of the Council accuse humanity of breaking Council law regarding AI. In order to keep good relations, the UNSC issues an order that all ship-board AI are to have their intelligence levels cut to the level of basic calculations.

**2767**

The new 'L2' biotic implant is used on several children at BAaT.

**2769**

Kaiden Alenko accidentally kills Vyrnnus. The resulting diplomatic fallout results in BAaT being shut down and relations between humans and Turians worsening. The Elites side with the humans, and relations there worsen as well.

**2770**

Batarian slavers attack the human colony of Mindoir, killing off many civilians and enslaving many more.

L3 biotics are created to replace the much more dangerous L2s, but prove to be far inferior in power.

**2771**

Appalled that the Council would not stop human expansion into the Skyllian Verge, the Batarians close their embassy and become a rogue state. The UNSC, sensing trouble, fortifies the area.

**2776**

Batarian funded raiders, pirates and mercenaries launch an attack on Elysium, managing to land troops on the ground before UNSC ships of Battlegroup 7 engage. Spartan Group Alpha, having been stationed there, quickly order Marines to evacuate the civilians, fighting off the raiders to the last man. The status of the entire squad is MIA, as no armor or bodies were ever recovered. This attack is now known as the Skyllian Blitz, and was quickly repelled by the UNSC.

**2777**

During a mission to discover the fate of a frontier team, a platoon of Marines is ambushed by threshers. Their Pelican is knocked out of the sky, and the soldiers have to hold them off until evac arrives. Very few survive.

**2778**

Thanks to several probes, the UNSC locates and destroys eight major pirates outpost, finally demolishing the Batarian base that had been attacking colonies, built underground on Torfan. Most of the assault force, Battlegroup 12, is destroyed, but not before the entire base is wiped clean of Batarians and destroyed from within.

**2779**

Human, Turian, and Elite engineer collaborate to build a brand new prototype vessel: the SSV Normandy, an advanced frigate with a prototype stealth system. The project is completed four years later.

**2783**

The SSV Normandy is scheduled for its first shakedown run in approximately two weeks. Captain Anderson is in command with Commander Shepard as XO.


	2. Prologue Part 2

**Mass Effect: Encroachment**

_Prologue: Part 2_

"What about Harris? Excellent military career, top scores at the academy…brawling on duty. Never mind."

Admiral Steven Hackett sighed as he twisted his hand, activating the motion sensitive apparatus on his finger, sending another personnel file on screen into the little trash can icon that had, for as long as computers had existed, always represented the place where such unwanted garbage was to go.

Captain David Anderson used his own DigitMouse, as the little things were called, to pull up another file, this one of a woman, an biotic in the Marines who had been a former ODST. They were currently the best candidates, aside from Spartans, to pass along into the final selection for this all too important assignment. Spartans, as a rule, were usually set aside out of any kind of joint operation with other members of Citadel space for their inability to cooperate, not just with aliens, but with their own species. It went along with their genetic conditioning, an unfortunate side effect. The increased aggression and adrenal glands in the super-soldiers systems meant they were nigh unstoppable, but most people described them as 'stuck up asshole glory boys.' And that was just one of the kinder, cleaner terms. Whatever opinion people had of Spartans in the past had changed immensely, and what was thought on the field of battle was completely different from what was thought in a diplomatic meeting.

"Ulanksy, Laura, Corporal. Served for thirty years so far, five in the ODST. Several disciplinary marks, but then again, what ODST doesn't have one?"

"Oh, forget about this!" snarled the third man. Ambassador Donnel Udina used his DigitMouse to erase the file, and Anderson sent him a venomous look. Ever since the two had met, they'd been vying for supremacy over the other, a battle which, it seemed, neither was going to win at any time.

Udina continued as though Anderson was nothing but smoke next to him, wafting his hand around dramatically as he wailed "Every single ODST got into there for a reason: they were hyper-aggressive, steroid pushing troublemakers, seconded only to the Spartans. The Council will never take one of them, we're wasting our time looking through former Shock Troopers!"

Though Hackett secretly agreed with Anderson that Udina seemed more of a whining bully than a real ambassador, the Admiral had to admit that Udina had a point. And so, he did.

"We can't rule them out, though. Aside from the ODST, the only other Special Operations units we have are the Spartans and N7."

Udina cocked his head, interested. "N7? Remind me again who they are?"

Anderson pitched in here. "There were three branches of Spec Ops in the UNSC until about thirty years ago. The Spartans were the first, the walking tanks that helped us win the war with the Covenant two-hundred years ago. Then there were the ODST, who technically came before the Spartans, but were shifted to a secondary rank because of their inferior physical characteristics. They handled jobs too rough for regular Marines, but not difficult enough to waste Spartans on."

Udina was waving once more, annoyed again. "Yes, yes, I already know that. Get to N7 already! I'm losing my patience."

Anderson continued as though he'd never been interrupted.

"Then there was N7, the branch associated with the one field that neither Spartan nor ODST were trained to accomplish: infiltration."

Anderson pulled up another file from the short, and continuously shrinking list, of eligible candidates, one Commander Matthias Shepard.

"Here, look at this man's training. Advanced computers and hacking, by the looks of it. Engineering, you see? The Navy Corps of Engineers aren't fitted out for frontline combat. Barely ever issued anything above a handgun. But Shepard took further weapons training. Authorized to use the standard pistol as well as a shotgun. You see, Ambassador, While the marines are kitted out to work together, and the Spartans to cause mass destruction on their own, N7 is taught how to quickly and quietly get in and out individually or in small groups."

"Like the Navy SEALS of old," cut in Hackett. He was scrutinizing the soldier's profile closely, eyes squinted at the holographic screen. "Let's see…a Marine for most of his career…he's been in N7 for half that time now…Anderson, what do you think?"

The captain next to him took a nice long look at the soldier's profile, his eyes quickly snapping from one line to another, following the digitized text. "No disciplinary marks. At least he knows how to follow orders."

Udina, not one to be left out of a conversation, perked his ears up and looked up at the screen too, inspecting it with the same thoroughness that his rival was. For a long time, all three men simply stared at the picture of the man, a stern-faced, red-haired marine with a short scar across his chin.

Finally, the ambassador broke the silence. "Well, what about Shepard? He's a spacer, lived on starships most of his life."

Anderson was nodding, and put in "Military service runs in the family. Both his parents were in the Navy." Hackett began to shake his head when he reached a particular line in the soldier's profile, saying "He saw his whole unit wiped out on Akuze. He could have some serious emotional scars."

He was hardly finished with this comment when it was waved aside by the captain with much the same manner as Udina had done mere minutes before, saying "Every soldier has scars. Shepard's a survivor."

The ambassador at his left shot him a suspicious look, haughtily asking "Is that the kind of person we _want_ protecting the galaxy?"

He shriveled, slightly, in his seat as Anderson fixed him with a deadly glare that might have come out of a Recoilless Energy Rifle. "That's the only kind of person who _can_ protect the galaxy."

Silence fell in the Admiral's Office for several seconds as Hackett witnessed the brief drama unfold, a small smile on his face as he silently chalked up a point for Anderson.

Finally, Udina frowned and reached for his MicroComm, saying "I'll make the call. But don't expect a smooth ride from the Council. Nihlus is supposed to be exemplary at exploiting weaknesses."


End file.
